Marketing Management Assignment: Situational Analysis of Sleep Corp Pty Ltd

Question

Task: You are required to write a report on marketing management assignment which conducts a thorough situational analysis of an organisation of your choice.

Answer

Executive Summary
Sleep Corp Pty Ltd. is a company selected in this marketing management assignment that operates in the bedding industry of Australia. The company aims at providing a better sleep to its customers as it strongly believes that a sound sleep gives a good start to the day. The company was initially operating as Protect-A-Bed, but eventually it got few brands under the parent company Sleep Corp. The business has been doing well in Australia and New Zealand. The external environment affects the business of Sleep Corp that was addressed in the paper. The political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors were considered for analysing the situation of the business. The managers had to understand the significance of the external environmental factors and take adequate steps to improve their business outcomes.

Company Overview: Sleep Corp Pty Ltd
Sleep Corp Pty Ltd. is a company, which manufactures products that help people to get a good sleep (Sleep Corp, 2021). The company is privately owned. The headquarters of Sleep Corp is located in Melbourne in Australia. The company has a good business network across Australia and New Zealand. The company started operating with the thought that they would provide their customers a good sleep. The founder, Murray McLeod, believed that when a person is sleeping, he/she is living well. Thus, since its foundation the company has been dedicated towards designing and producing products that are needed for a sound sleep and good dreams. The company has been sourcing and manufacturing products like mattresses protectors, bed pads, chair pads, pillows, sheets, briefs, etc.

Sleep Corp Pty Ltd was initially operating as Protect-A-Bed. They have established their brand identity as mattress protectors and sleep specialists in Australia and outside (Sleep Corp, 2021). The company has always tried to meet their promises and commitment by reflecting their vision into their products. The company has created its brand position in the bedding industry of Australia. In 1978, Murray McLeod came up with the idea of making sleep a better experience for people. The idea of making mattress protectors and waterproof mattress was conceived in South Africa. In the year 1995, Murray relocated from South Africa to Australia. The company introduced its kids range named Baby. Protect-A-Bed was launched in the year 2000. The brands like Protect-A-Bed, Buddies, Moonshadow, Dreampad and Lifenest came under the parent company, Sleep Corp(Sleep Corp, 2021). Since 2018, the company has been operating under this name. These brands under Sleep Corp are famous for the comfort they offer to the customers.

To sustain in business and maintain the brand position in an industry, the company has to consider its external environment and situational factors. The company has been maintaining a steady growth trend. Harvey Norman is the biggest client of Sleep Corp. This business-to-business (B2B) operational structure has helped the brand to flourish. The company has been performing efficiently and realising commitments through its efficacy in manufacturing (Sleep Corp, 2021).

PESTEL Analysis
To understand the influence of the external environment on business, it is very important to consider the situational factors. The PESTEL analysis will give a clearer picture of the factors that affect the business of Sleep Corp.

Political Factors: The political scenario or factors affect the business of Sleep Corp. As the business is mainly based in Australia and New Zealand, the political condition of these countries is likely to influence the business and its profitability in the long run (Howard, 2017). The stable political situation or favourable political factors facilitate uninterrupted continuity of the business of Sleep Corp. To expand its business across several other countries, Sleep Corp has to manage the political risks of being exposed to different political environment. The political factors affect the demand for Sleep Corp’s products. The insights into marketing and consequent actions can be planned through analysis of the political factors like:

• Political stability in Australia and other countries where Sleep Corp is operating
• Intellectual property protection
• Corruption in the countries’ various sectors related to the business
• Risk of war
• Restrictions or legal constraints of operating within that particular political environment (Boyer et al, 2021)
• Tariffs and trade regulations related to the operations of Sleep Corp.
• Interference and bureaucracy of the government
• Anti-trust laws related to the bedding industry
• Taxation policies and incentives (Alfonso et al, 2017)
• Price regulatory mechanisms in bedding industry
• Industrial safety regulations, wage legislation, employee benefits and product labelling pertaining to the business of Sleep Corp.

Economic Factors: Various economic factors affect the macro environment of Sleep Corp. Some of the significant factors include the exchange rate of foreign currencies, interest rates, inflation rate, economic cycles, savings rate, aggregate investment and aggregate demand, etc. The micro environmental factors include the norms of competition that directly influences the business of Sleep Corp as the competitive advantage of the company is affected. The company can utilise the external economic factors to enhance the business growth. As per Costa et al (2020) the growth trajectory of the company as well as the industry could be forecasted by referring to the economic factors like inflation, economic growth rate, industry-specific economic indicators, etc. The economic factors mainly affect the pricing and costs of the products of Sleep Corp. Some of the significant economic factors that might impact the business of Sleep Corp include:

• Form and stability of the economic system of the country where the company is operating
• Foreign exchange rates
• Intervention of the government into the free market operations
• Stability of the currency of Australia, which is the host nation for Sleep Corp
• Financial market efficiency so that raising capital for the business from the local market is easier (Kehoe, Midrigan and Pastorino, 2018)
• Infrastructure of the bedding industry
• Costs of labour and productivity of labour in the country where it operates
• Skill and educational level of the workforce
• Employment rate
• Stage in the business cycle in which the country is, for instance, inflation, recovery or recession (Schmöller and Spitzer, 2021)
• Economic growth and interest rate

Social Factors: The aim of Sleep Corp is to make sleep a better experience. However, the tastes, preferences and attitude of the people are very important for the business to flourish (Saba et al, 2019). The company needs to understand the requirements of the customers and sense the nerve of the market to design the appropriate products and capture greater market share. The social factors that affect the business of Sleep Corp include:

• Culture of the country where it is operating
• Attitude and shared beliefs that affect the marketing across the population of a country
• Class structure, power and hierarchy structure
• Population’s demographics
• Social conventions and gender roles
• Environmental concerns and Health consciousness
• Interest or inclination of the population towards enhancing comfort level in life (Peng et al, 2021)

Technological Factors: The technology is an important factor that affects the business of Sleep Corp. Through continuous research, development and technological up-gradation, the company is able to improve the quality of their products (Ostagar, 2018). The level of technology in the country where the company operates is also significant for consideration, as it would affect the growth of the business of the company. Few technological factors that Sleep Corp needs to consider for making its business profitable are:

• Impact of the latest technological inventions on product offering (Terziev, Madanski and Georgiev, 2017)
• Impact of the value chain structure in the bedding industry
• Cost structure in the bedding industry
• Technological diffusion

Environmental Factors: The environmental factors can affect the company’s profitability across various markets. When the states or countries have different environmental standards, the company has to consider them before entering the market (Shooshtarian et al, 2021). Few environmental factors that influence the business of Sleep Corp include:

• Environmental Laws
• Liability laws
• Climatic and weather conditions of the country or area of operation
• Pollution regulations in the country or state imposed on the bedding industry
• Concern for recycling
• Waste management norms
• Demand for green or eco-friendly products (Noh and Kim, 2019)
• Use of renewable energy resources

Legal Factors: No company can operate beyond the legal structure and so the legal factors are significant for situational analysis of a company. The legal factors that are likely to affect the business of Sleep Corp include:

• Protection of intellectual property rights, patents and copyrights (Van Norman and Eisenkot, 2017)
  
• Discrimination Laws
• Anti-Trust laws in the bedding industry
• Health and safety laws
• Employment laws
• E-commerce and consumer protection norms (Gainsbury et al, 2020)
• Data protection

Market Position and Decision Making
Market Position
Sleep Corp has occupied a place in the minds of its customers as a provider of good sleep and comfort. The comfortable light airy briefs and waterproof mattresses are some of the products which distinguish Sleep Corp from its competitors (Sleep Corp, 2021). The company has established its market position by making its motto a reality.

Industry Environment

Customer Base
The company is involved in B2B business model and has a strong customer base, including companies like Harvey Norman and others. Sleep Corp does not directly sell to final consumers but has a vast consumer base because sleep is a subject which everyone connects with.

Decision Making
In order to take effective decisions on behalf of the company, the managers need to consider the various external environmental factors. Moreover, the managers need to identify the target customers and understand their needs so that their requirements can be addressed (Xie, Huo and Zou, 2019). The products of Sleep Corp including bed pads, chair pads, mattress protectors, sheets and pillows, briefs, etc. should be designed to offer its customers better comfort. The company’s USP is its brand motto, to make sleep a better experience. Thus, the products should be designed and manufactured in such a way that the customers get a better taste of comfort and are able to get a good sleep. The managers need to ensure that Sleep Corp’s action oriented business strategies, products’ excellence and advanced research and development give them a better position over its competitors.As the company operates in the B2B structure, it has to ensure that its big clients like Harvey Norman and others are fully satisfied with associating with Sleep Corp. The managers need to ensure better products as well as good business relations with the companies, whom they supply their products (Lahti, Wincent and Parida, 2018).

References
Alfonso, J.H., Bauer, A., Bensefa?Colas, L., Boman, A., Bubas, M., Constandt, L., Crepy, M.N., Goncalo, M., Macan, J., Mahler, V. and Mijakoski, D., 2017.Minimum standards on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of occupational and work?related skin diseases in Europe–position paper of the COST Action StanDerm (TD 1206). Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, 31, pp.31-43.

Boyer, R.H., Hunka, A.D., Linder, M., Whalen, K.A. and Habibi, S., 2021. Product labels for the circular economy: Are customers willing to pay for circular?. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 27, pp.61-71.

Costa, L., Guedes de Oliveira, F., Leitão, A. and Paredes, J., 2020. Business cycles and trends in Germany and Portugal: macroeconomic policy implications in the Euro Area. European Planning Studies, pp.1-27.

Gainsbury, S.M., Angus, D.J., Procter, L. and Blaszczynski, A., 2020. Use of consumer protection tools on internet gambling sites: Customer perceptions, motivators, and barriers to use. Journal of gambling studies, 36(1), pp.259-276.

Howard, J., 2017. Nonstandard work arrangements and worker health and safety. American journal of industrial medicine, 60(1), pp.1-10. Kehoe, P.J., Midrigan, V. and Pastorino, E., 2018. Evolution of modern business cycle models: Accounting for the great recession. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 32(3), pp.141-66.

Lahti, T., Wincent, J. and Parida, V., 2018. A definition and theoretical review of the circular economy, value creation, and sustainable business models: where are we now and where should research move in the future?. Sustainability, 10(8), p.2799.

Noh, J. and Kim, J.S., 2019. Cooperative green supply chain management with greenhouse gas emissions and fuzzy demand. Journal of Cleaner Production, 208, pp.1421-1435.

Ostagar, A.M., 2018. Impact of Technology and Innovation in Insurance Sector. International Journal of Management, IT and Engineering, 8(12), pp.253-258.

Peng, Y., Peng, Z., Feng, T., Zhong, C. and Wang, W., 2021. Assessing comfort in urban public spaces: a structural equation model involving environmental attitude and perception. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(3), p.1287.

Saba, A., Sinesio, F., Moneta, E., Dinnella, C., Laureati, M., Torri, L., Peparaio, M., Civitelli, E.S., Endrizzi, I., Gasperi, F. and Bendini, A., 2019. Measuring consumers attitudes towards health and taste and their association with food-related life-styles and preferences. Food Quality and Preference, 73, pp.25-37. Schmöller, M.E. and Spitzer, M., 2021.Deep Recessions, Slowing Productivity and Missing (Dis-) inflation in the euro area. European Economic Review, p.103708.

Shooshtarian, S., Maqsood, T., Wong, P.S., Khalfan, M. and Yang, R.J., 2021.Extended Producer Responsibility in the Australian Construction Industry. Sustainability, 13(2), p.620.

Sleep Corp., 2021. About.Available at https://www.sleepcorp.com.au/. [Accessed 19 March 2020]

Terziev, V., Madanski, V. and Georgiev, M., 2017. Offset implementation impact on technology transfer in Bulgaria. International E-Journal of Advances in Social Sciences, 3(9), pp.923-927.

Van Norman, G.A. and Eisenkot, R., 2017. Technology transfer: from the research bench to commercialization: part 1: intellectual property rights—basics of patents and copyrights. JACC: Basic to Translational Science, 2(1), pp.85-97.

Xie, X., Huo, J. and Zou, H., 2019. Green process innovation, green product innovation, and corporate financial performance: A content analysis method. Journal of Business Research, 101, pp.697-706.